Jan 20, 2021 17:15:00

Humans hundreds of thousands of years ago may have survived hunger in a state close to hibernation

Prehistoric anthropologists have pointed out that 'hibernation' may have helped humans hundreds of thousands of years ago to hibernate, just as bears hibernate by lowering their body temperature to overcome the lack of food in winter.

Hibernation in hominins from Atapuerca, Spain half a million years ago --ScienceDirect

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anthro.2020.102797

Early humans may have survived the harsh winters by hibernating | Science | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/dec/20/early-humans-may-have-survived-the-harsh-winters-by-hibernating

The study was conducted by Antonis Barziocas of the University of Thrace Democritus in Greece and Juan Luis Arsuaga of the University of Madrid and was published in the anthropological journal L'Anthropologie No. 124.

Arsaga is in charge of excavation at the archaeological site of Atapuerca, Spain. The human bones found at the bottom of a 13-meter-deep hole called 'Sima de los Wesos' are at least 350,000 years old and belong to Homo Heidelbergensis, an ancestor of Neanderthals rather than modern humans. is.

by José-Manuel Benito

Both men thoroughly investigated this human bone using a microscope and CT scan. Since the signs of lesions and other injuries tended to be the same as those of animals with a habit of hibernating, it was speculated that they lived a life of reduced metabolism and survived the winter.

Because primates such as lemurs and

Senegal bushbaby also have a habit of hibernating , mammal species including humans are inherited to 'hibernate by lowering metabolism in order to survive winter when food is limited.' Claims that there may be a physical and physiological basis.

In response to the question from the British daily The Guardian, 'Why are the Inuit and Sami people who live in the frigid cold not hibernating?', They said, 'Inuit and Sami people have fat-storing reindeer and fish. However, it is probable that the dry Sima de los Wesos on the Iberian Peninsula did not have a fat-rich food for hibernation. '

According to Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London, large mammals such as bears are too large to lower their body temperature sufficiently, so they do not hibernate and do not have a deep 'dormant'. It is pointed out that it is doing. In this case, the energy demand remains reasonably high at the size of a human-like brain, raising the question of how the people of Sima de los Wesos took steps to survive.

'It's also a fascinating idea that can be verified by examining the genomes of the people of Sima de los Wesos, Neanderthals, and Denisovans for signs of genetic alterations in dormancy,' Stringer added. I am.